


All The Things We Leave Behind

by grumblesandmumbles



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Apocalypse, Death, Gen, POV Alternating, Survival, Zombie Apocalypse, Zombies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-15
Updated: 2016-03-30
Packaged: 2018-05-26 21:05:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6255772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grumblesandmumbles/pseuds/grumblesandmumbles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes it takes drastic circumstances to force people to reach out for help. In this case, it took the end of the world to force the Gallaghers and Milkoviches to come back together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Sometimes it takes drastic circumstances to force people to reach out for help. In this case, it took the end of the world to force the Gallaghers and Milkoviches to come back together.

The animosity between the two families was long-standing; first between their parents and then passed down to the kids. With exceptions, of course. For a while it even seemed that the two families could eventually unify, but with Mickey in prison and Mandy in the wind, things crept back to the way they had been. The older Gallaghers thumbed their noses at the Milkoviches. They were unscrupled, abrasive, rough around the edges. The irony of their judgment was never lost on the Milkoviches. They knew that the only real difference between the families was that they didn’t pretend to themselves that they were any better or worse than they were. For the way they were judged in their neighborhood, the Milkovich family was very self aware, while the Gallaghers often thought more highly of themselves.

It had all started like something out of a movie or TV show. A mysterious illness, mass panic and hysteria, people dying and then… not. Some would call them zombies, or walkers, or any other name. The Gallaghers didn’t concern themselves with what to call them, but how they were going to keep them and every other threat away from their door. Even before the power disappeared, they kept the lights off at night, hoping that no one would try to loot their home. They made quick runs to neighboring homes, crossing their fingers that they would find any sort of supplies or food, scavenging whatever they could use, checking in with Kev and Vee. Things were getting desperate as their stash dwindled down more and more.

“We gotta do something!” Fiona yelled. Her frustration was growing as they all argued back and forth around the living room. 

It was a packed house. All of the Gallagher kids, Frank, Kev and Vee and the girls. Even Svetlana and Yevgeny were there, as they were pretty much a part of the package by then. It was Lip who would chime in to argue with her, as it usually was.

“Where the fuck are we gonna go Fiona?” He yelled just as loudly back. “We don’t know what it’s like out there, what we could get into. We don’t have a fucking clue! I think we should just stay here, ride it out.”

“It’s all gone to hell,” Vee sighed. “This place is overrun, there’s just too many people. Maybe Fiona is right, we could get out of the city, maybe find an abandoned farm or something, set ourselves up. Maybe it would better our chances.”

The rest of the group shifted their attention around the room as arguments and ideas were tossed around. No one could seem to agree on what to do. Even Frank was at a loss, and he always had two cents to spare to whoever would feign interest. None of the ideas seemed very good anyway. Before they could go much further, there was frantic knocking on the door.

“Hey! Gallaghers! You in there? Please, let us in!” It was a female voice, a familiar one, but no one could place it right away since they hadn’t heard it for some time. Carl was closest to the door and he peeked out the window before opening it. Iggy and Mandy barreled in and slammed the door behind them.

Ian jumped up and rushed over to Mandy, checking her over. “Shit, are you guys alright?!”

She nodded, clearly a bit disoriented. “It’s getting worse out there. We snuck out on a run looking for shit, came back and our yard was crawling with those things. Had to outrun them, didn’t know where else to go.” 

Ian put his arm around Mandy’s shoulder and pulled her in to soothe her. “I didn’t even know you were back in Chicago.”

Mandy nodded. “I left Indiana when things started really going downhill. Kenyatta got sick early on, he didn’t make it. I didn’t want to stay out there alone, I managed to get home before I was stuck.”

“Shit,” Ian whispered. He hated Kenyatta, but that was also the first time he heard about someone he knew dying from the outbreak. It really drove the point home for him, that they couldn’t just stay in their house and wait for something to happen. If they were going to get through this, they had to take action. “Maybe Fiona’s right, maybe we should try to get out there on the move and look for a more secure place to relocate and settle.”

Lip threw his arms up in frustration, the argument practically bursting out of him. “This is a terrible fuckin’ idea.”

Kev, ever the peacemaker, tried to reason with him. “Look, if we’re in this together, we should take a vote. Majority rules. At least it’s fair that way.”

Lip scowled for a long moment before shrugging. 

“Alright, who’s in favor of giving it a go?” Kevin asked. Slowly, hands started to go up around the room and it was pretty clear which way the vote was heading. “Who doesn’t want to leave?” 

Lip and Frank were the only ones who raised their hands that time. The frown on Lip’s face deepened when he realized who his only ally was in the debate, but he kept silent. The tension in the room was pretty thick when a voice broke the silence.

“Hey uh, do you think we could team up with you guys?” Iggy asked. “Y’know, safety in numbers and all that.”

Everyone looked around at each other. They had kind of forgotten that Iggy and Mandy were there watching everything unfold.The silence was uncomfortably long before Lip bit the bullet and responded in the asshole way everyone relied on.

“We’ve got our own people to look out for, we can’t be responsible for everyone.” 

Iggy snorted at that. “Fuck you, man. We can pull our own weight. You think because you’re supposed to be so smart you got all the answers, huh? You might know tons of things college boy, but we Milkoviches get shit done. And we got access to plenty of weapons. How you gonna kill these things, bore them to death with your college talk? Read them a textbook?”

Lip puffed out his chest, ready to show Iggy exactly what he could do, but was stopped by Ian’s hand on his chest. “Igg has a point, man. We’re scrappy, but we don’t have shit in the way of defending ourselves. They’ve got a gun cabinet for fuck’s sake.”

“Look man, I’m not trying to take from nobody,” Iggy said. “If we’re a group, we all share. Food, guns, everyone plays their part huh?”

Lip mulled it over, looking around the room at all of the eyes considering the options. He hated to admit that it actually seemed to make the idea of leaving Chicago behind a little more doable. “Since we’re such a fucking democracy now, might as well vote on this too. All in favor?”

This time it was unanimous, and the tension in the room lightened considerably. It was nearly lunchtime and Fiona scraped together some sandwiches for everyone, trying to ignore how little food was left in the house. They all discussed ideas for how they were going to prepare to travel, how to get more supplies, debates about what possessions they should bother to bring. 

“There’s only two things we need to do before we can go,” Iggy said.    


“Yea, what’s the first one?” Lip asked.

Iggy took a bite of his sandwich and chewed as he spoke. “Gotta get back into the house to get our stockpile, also got some other safe houses that are stocked up that we can hit.”

“And the second?” Ian chimed in.

“Gotta get Mickey outta prison.”

\----------

Mickey was dying.

The idea had scared him at first. It had scared the shit out of him. This wasn’t how his life was supposed to end, still in prison, alone, in the middle of the fucking apocalypse. He was supposed to serve his 15 years, 8 with overcrowding, and then get out. Maybe he would have lived a full life, been a productive member of society. Maybe he would have gotten back into a life of crime and paid the consequences. But he certainly shouldn’t have been trapped in a cell with a guy who had died twice. 

Getting any sort of information in prison had been difficult. It was mostly rumors and outright lies being circulated. The guards wouldn’t tell them shit, the news in the entertainment room was heavy on theatrics and light on facts. People starting getting sick, guards and prisoners alike, dropping like flies. And then they came back, but they weren’t really there. Mickey could see it in the cellies across from him. Growling and rumbling around their cells. The guards were gone by then, the ones who had still been well enough to leave at least. A few lay dead, really dead, around the hallways, taken care of by their healthier coworkers. They had left the prisoners there to die, not even giving them a chance by letting them free. 

Mickey waited and waited for it to happen to him, but time ticked along and he felt fine. Then his cellmate fell ill and he thought that was the end of him. Bruno, or Bruiser as everyone called him, coughed and choked until he finally fell silent. Mickey thought maybe they didn’t all come back, that maybe some of them just stayed dead. But he watched, and he waited, and eventually he heard terrible noises coming from Bruno and knew he wasn’t getting that lucky. Mickey knew if he had any chance, he had to act quickly, and he attacked before he could be attacked. 

He couldn’t even think about how he killed Bruno. Even though he knew Bruno was really gone by then, it haunted him, having to get so violent with him and so up close, with no weapon. He had taken care of it and hidden Bruno’s body under the bed, taking the mattress down and blocking the view from his own bed. 

Days went by, Mickey lost track of how many it had been. The noise in the prison was unspeakable. Those  _ things _ were constantly making noise. At first, Mickey’s stomach clenched with hunger pains, but eventually it stopped hurting. If he wasn’t going to die from whatever illness was going around, it was only a matter of time before he would starve. But at least it didn’t hurt anymore. He was so tired. He just wanted to get on with it. Mickey laid down on his bed facing the wall and closed his eyes. 

It would all be over soon.

\----------

“This is a terrible idea,” Lip said, his voice deadpanned. He was done really arguing about it, but he needed to make sure his objections were noted one final time before they walked into what he assumed would be their death trap.

He, Ian, Kev and Iggy were all in the prison parking lot looking at the facility. Lip wasn’t sure what he had expected, but at least on the outside, it was much more desolate than made sense. He saw some of those things off in the distance, but it didn’t seem their arrival had garnered any attention. 

“How do we even know where to find him?” Kev asked.

“I’ve been in the joint before,” Iggy told him. “I know my way around here. He’s in C-Block.”

Ian’s face was a blank slate, but Lip knew that was what he did to hide his innermost thoughts and feelings. “What if Mickey’s… If he’s…” Ian couldn’t finish the question.

Lip clapped him gently on the shoulder. “Best not to assume anything one way or another, yea?”

There was an intake of breath and a nod. Lip didn’t like how shaky Ian’s breath was, but he could hardly blame him. He didn’t even care much for Mickey but he was worried about how they would find him too. Lip really thought it was a lost cause, had tried to argue it, but he thought about what he would do if it was one of his siblings and for once he stood down with minimal argument.

Before anyone could say anything further, Iggy started making his way towards the prison entrance, leaving the others to catch up. They each had a gun and a knife with them, though Lip wasn’t sure if he could use his and was confident that Kev couldn’t. Iggy tried the main door and it opened right away. They all glanced around at each other for a moment before they entered, not wanting to get too hopeful about how easy this would be. Once they were all inside, Iggy tried the door that led to the cell blocks but it didn’t budge. Next he moved to the door which led into the administrative area and that one opened. 

“Check all the doors, stay as quiet as possible, look for any key rings.” Iggy instructed. 

“Take any food, medicine and medical supplies, or weapons too,” Lip added. “No matter how little. Every bit helps.”

Everyone nodded at each other and made their way to different rooms. With four of them spreading out, it didn’t take long before they had made their way through the wing. They rejoined and pooled their findings. There wasn’t much, but Kev did find the warden’s office with a large key ring and a couple of guns. Iggy took the key ring and they made their way back to the entrance area to see if they could get further inside.

There were a lot of keys to test. Coupled with Iggy’s nerves at being so close to finding out what happened to Mickey and he became quickly frustrated. He felt like he was losing track of which keys he tested and he started trying to force them into the keyhole to make them work. He felt a hand over his, taking the keys from him and gently easing him away from the door. 

“Let me give it a go,” Lip insisted.

It took him a minute to stand down, but Iggy relented and Lip took his place. He was much more thorough, taking his time, and it wasn’t too long before they heard the tumblr click over. This time, when Lip tested the door, it swung open with a squeak.

“Holy shit, we’re in!” Kev exclaimed.

Iggy surged forward, the rest of the guys hot on his heels, leading them through the corridor until it branched off in five separate directions, one for each of the four cell blocks and the fifth for the common areas. Iggy motioned to the right and they followed him until they reached another door. 

“He’s in one of these cells.” Iggy whispered. 

Lip stepped forward with the keys again, but stopped to address everyone before he did anything. “Listen, we stay close in there, no separating, okay? We don’t know what is going on in there, who’s out or not, dead or not. We stay close, a set of eyes in each direction.”

Everyone nodded and he started out with the keys again. It took longer this time, but soon enough there was the sound of the lock relenting and they were in. They moved into C-Block and were immediately overwhelmed by the noise and the  _ smell _ . They had experienced both in small doses, but not so much in closed quarters at once. Lip’s sensitive stomach betrayed him and he doubled over, heaving and throwing up right on the floor. 

“Jesus, that’s fuckin’ brutal.” Kev muttered, his shirt over his face. “Let’s get on with this.”

The block was two levels, two long rows of cells on each side running parallel the entire length of the area. They moved to the left and started peering into the cells one by one. Each door had an open window of sorts, no glass or plastic but with bars across it. Some of the cells were still, their occupants seeming to be really dead. Others had those creatures, watching and growling at them. With every cell they passed, their frustration was growing. Mickey was nowhere to be found.

“Igg, are you sure he was in C-Block?” Ian asked anxiously. “Could they have moved him?”

“I’m positive,” Iggy assured. “He got on one guard’s good side, the guy kept him away from my dad and his nazi buddies, they’re spread around the other three blocks.”

“Shit, I forgot Terry was in here,” Kev said. “Are we gonna spring him too?”

“Fuck him, he deserves whatever’s comin’ to him.” Iggy said curtly.

They were quiet after that, continuing through the block. They were on the second level, nearly at the end of their third row when Ian stopped them. 

“Holy shit, I think that’s him!”

They all peered through the little window at the figure on the bed. He was facing the wall, curled nearly into fetal position, jet black hair stark against the white pillow. He didn’t seem to be moving. Lip felt the keys snatched out of his hand and watched as Ian fumbled through them frantically. 

“Fuck fuck _fuck_ , Mick oh _please_ Mick, be alright.” Ian was becoming more upset with each passing moment but when Lip reached for the keys he nudged him away. One final lock gave way and Ian flung the door open, the group of them fumbling their way inside. Ian rushed over to the bed and reached out, rolling the prisoner onto his back. 

It was Mickey.

He didn’t look well at all. He was gaunt, the life drained from him. His skin looked sickly. Lip thought he was dead and was reaching for Ian to comfort him when he heard words he couldn’t believe.

“He’s alive. He’s got a pulse but it’s faint. We need to get him help.” Ian was frantic.

Kev grabbed Ian by the shoulders and pulled him back. “We’ll get him to Vee, let me take him.” He reached down and slid one hand under Mickey’s knees and the other under his back, scooping Mickey into his arms. Mickey’s head lolled lifelessly to the side and they all stopped for a moment to just look at him.

“This motherfucker’s either the luckiest or unluckiest S.O.B. in the new world.” Kev observed. 

No one responded. They weren’t quite sure which one it was.

They all hurried out the way that they came in, Lip stopping at each point to lock up tight and pocketing the key ring. He knew they had to come back here at some point to check the supplies more extensively and see what they could take.

But for now, they had to keep Mickey alive.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the apocalypse... So take heed that there are mentions of character death and of dead bodies, but no one important.

_One Month Earlier_

Vee was looking forward to a nice, relaxing afternoon. It wasn’t something she got much of these days, with twin daughters finally old enough to get into everything. But her mother’s church group was doing a free summer camp program for children and had gotten the girls in and Vee was relishing the time for herself.

She had heard the stories in the news, but Vee had her own problems. That’s how it was trying to live comfortably poor. If it wasn’t in her periphery, she wasn’t paying it any mind. Until, of course, that changed.

It was a few more hours until Carol was bringing the girls back. Kev and Svetlana were at The Alibi. Vee figured she could get at least a few errands done before she was back on mommy time. She checked the fridge and the cabinets, jotting notes about what they needed. _Milk, always more milk. Those fruit snacks the girls love, what’s the damn name? I’ll call Kev on the way and find out. Jewel Osco had pasta on sale, should probably stock up while it’s cheap._ She was almost out the door with her list when the house phone rang.

Rushing back, Vee grabbed it before it stopped ringing. “Hello?”

The voice on the other end was harried and out of breath. “Veronica! Oh thank God you answered! Please, I need your help!”

The voice was so familiar, but Vee couldn’t place it. “Who the hell is this?”

“It’s _Deirdre_ ,” she exclaimed. “Please Vee, can you come? I don’t know who else to call. _Please._ ”

Deirdre. From the nursing home. Vee had only talked to her occasionally since she got fired, but when they worked together, Vee and Deirdre had been thick as thieves. Hell, Deirdre had been in on her scheme with selling the medical supplies too, but only Vee caught the heat from that disaster. They might have given her a second chance if she had given Deirdre up, but she thought of Deirdre’s five kids and walked out with her last paycheck and her silence.

“Girl, what’s wrong? You alright?” Vee asked.

“Hell no! The charges, they’re getting sick. I think they got that shit that’s been on the news. Vee, they’ve left me here alone with all these patients. I don’t know what to do!” Deirdre was panicked.

Vee thought about those patients. Elderly, defenseless, abandoned. “Shit,” she mumbled. “Alright, gimme a little bit. I’ll come down there.”

“Oh Vee, thank you!” Deirdre cried, the relief clear in her voice.

“Don’t thank me yet, bitch. You’re gonna owe me one for this.” Vee said, but there was no heat in her voice. She hung up, figuring she could make the rest of her calls as she made her way to the nursing home. She dialed her cell, moving down the sidewalk towards the train as quick as she could without running.

“Mama? I’mma need you to keep the girls after camp, I got something to take care of. While you’re over there at the church, say an extra prayer for me, would ya?”

\----------

Nine days. That was how long it took for everything at the nursing home to run its course.

When Vee had arrived, she still didn’t understand how desperate things were. She still didn’t know that it was only the beginning. The first thing she realized was that most of the patients were ill, some more sick than others. A few still seemed healthy enough, not accounting for their old age or other ailments. Vee helped Deirdre to check over each of the patients, gave out medicines, fed them dinner. When the patients were all bedded down for the night, Vee and Deirdre huddled in the master office with a bottle of grocery store wine that Vee had scrounged up.

Vee was still in a daze from Deirdre’s story. It made no logical sense to Vee, but it had to be true. Deirdre was a nice woman, but she had no imagination. “Girl, they really all left? Just like that?”

Deirdre nodded. “Every last one. Every nurse, orderly, office staff. No one would stay. Guess they figured the old only have so much time anyway. Went to be with their families or some shit.” She reached over and took the bottle from Vee’s hand, wrapping her own fingers around the neck and tilting it back into her mouth.

“That’s fucked up.” Vee said with a scowl. “Like you don’t got your own damn family too.”

Deirdre sighed. “I couldn’t just leave them here, Vee.”

She nodded. “I know.”

\----------

The first death happened the following day. It was the first event that made Vee understand that all of this was real.

He was a little old man, not someone who Vee recognized from when she had worked there, but very sweet apparently. Deirdre was very broken up about it and Vee had told her to take some time in the office to get herself together before she came back to deal with the rest of the patients. It may have been awhile since Vee had worked here, but she remembered the protocol, and she knew that she had to call the Medical Examiner and have their office send a coroner to handle things. That’s was when it all fell into place.

Vee got the number and dialed, the phone ringing over and over, it had to be at least ten times. She was about to hang up and check if the number was even right when a voice barked over the line.

“M.E.”

She was startled momentarily but regained her bearings quick enough. “Hi, I’m calling about a death at the nursing home I work at-”

The man interrupted her. “Yea, give me the info, we’ll try to get there eventually.”

Vee was taken aback. “Excuse me? What do you mean _eventually_?”

“Look, lady,” the man huffed at the other end of the line. “We’re busy on a good day to begin with, it’s Chicago after all. But _now_? You’re lucky if we ever get to you.”

“What do you mean now?” She asked in confusion.

A choked laugh punched through the phone. “Have you looked at the news recently? Some crazy shit goin’ around out there. Look, you want to leave the information or not?”

Vee gave him the name and address of the nursing home and before he could hang up on her, she interjected with one last question. “Wait, what are we supposed to do with him?”

There was a long pause before she finally got a response. “Leave him where he lays, bag him if it makes you feel better, but I recommend closing the door and keeping him in. Maybe even put something through his head before he can do anything.”

Before she even had a chance to ask what the hell he meant, the line went dead.

\----------

When Deirdre had calmed down, she returned and the two of them set about doing rounds to check on everyone. Vee didn’t tell her about the strange conversation with the medical examiner. She didn’t want to upset Deirdre even more. While Vee didn’t understand the weird advice she received, she had in fact tried to do something with the man. She didn’t want to just leave him there, so she had found a body bag in one of the supply rooms and got him into it as best as she could, leaving his face uncovered. It was one step too far for her. She shut the door to keep the man’s body out of view and to keep the others from getting upset. As the women did their rounds, Vee walked past his room and heard a strange noise. She wondered if one of the others hadn’t wandered in there in confusion. Vee opened the door and it took everything she had not to scream her head off.

The man was… Vee didn’t want to say alive. It made no sense. But his eyes were open. He was writhing around in the bag, and when he heard the door and saw her enter, he started moving even more furiously. His face, his eyes, they didn’t look right.

Vee took a couple of tentative steps into the room. “Sir?”

The man gnashed his teeth, making sickening noises at her. She felt her stomach flop for a moment, but it settled down. She crept a little closer, the man growing more agitated as she neared. “Holy shit,” she whispered.

Her earlier phone call came back to her. It still didn’t make sense exactly, but Vee understood the essence of the warning now, even though she had no fucking idea why this was happening. This man was _dead_. She had taken his vitals. Deirdre had taken his vitals. There was no way this could be happening, and yet it was. Vee was nothing if not pragmatic, and she wasn’t about to let emotion or fear stop her from figuring out what she was going to do.

She looked around the room for something heavy. Kev loved scary movies and shows; he had certainly made Vee sit through her fair share of them. If she learned nothing, it was that when something was supposed to be dead, and it wasn’t dead anymore, you better make it dead again. She spotted a large snow globe on a shelf and reached for it, testing its weight. Vee moved closer to the bed, the man really working up a frenzy now. She looked at him, looking for any sign of vitality, of humanity, but she didn’t see anything that make her hesitate.

Vee took a deep breath and raised the snow globe over her head.

\----------

On the ninth day, Vee sat over Deirdre as her breathing labored.

Over those days, every single patient had died. Each time, Vee had to finish things when they came back. Deirdre couldn’t do it, she was too emotional, where Vee was very logical. Now Deirdre was near the end and Vee for once was unsure if she would be able to deal with this.

“Vee,” Deirdre whispered. “Promise me. You can’t let me turn out like them.”

She avoided the eyes that were burning into her. She didn’t want to make a promise she wasn’t sure she could keep. “Let me call your family again, you should be with them.”

Deirdre shook her head. “I spoke to them, I saw them, making them watch this would just even worse. I don’t want them to see that. You got kids, you wouldn’t want your girls seeing this either.”

_Shit_. Vee knew she was had. She finally looked up and met Deirdre’s eye. “I’ll take care of you.”

A few hours later, Deirdre was gone. Vee took care of her before she could come back. She took care like she promised she would, and then she cried. For the first time in nine days, the dam broke and Vee sobbed alone in the office until she couldn’t cry anymore. When she finally got herself together, she made a phone call.

“Kev? Come get me, I’m coming home. Bring the truck, we got quite a bit of supplies here, might need to make a few trips.”

\----------

_Present Day_

Everyone was gathered at the Gallagher house, waiting for the boys to return from their excursion to the prison. No one had been happy about the idea of them going, but Iggy and Ian couldn’t be talked out of it, and Lip and Kev wouldn’t let them go as a duo. The rest of the group had idled around, trying to act as if they were thinking about anything but that, when really, it was all that anyone had in mind.

They heard the squeal of brakes outside and car doors slamming, as the front door burst open.

“Veronica!” Lip yelled out. “We need your help!”

She had been at the kitchen sink getting water when she heard her name and her heart dropped. _What if it’s Kev? I can’t handle it if it’s Kev._ She dropped her cup and rushed around the corner into the living room.

“Fuck, what happened, are you guys alright? Where’s Kev? KEV?”

She only saw Lip and Iggy and was about to panic before she heard heavy footsteps on the porch. Kev appeared in the room with a body in his arms and a frantic Ian at his heels. “Vee, he’s in bad shape.”

“Holy shit,” she whispered. Mickey.

Vee hurried across the room to get a look at him. It didn’t look good. His lips were dry and chapped, his skin was sallow, he was painfully thin. He was in sorry shape. She reached for his arm and picked it up from where it hung, checking his pulse. It was faint, but it was there. She looked at her watch to count it off. “He’s gotta be dehydrated. Lip, go to my house, get an IV bag of saline and a line, they’re next to each other. Get me an IV pole too. Grab alcohol and cotton balls. It should all be in the girl’s bedroom. Hurry! Iggy, go scrounge up some sort of juice, maybe something with electrolytes… Pedialyte, Gatorade, look for the word electrolyte. If you can’t find something like that, just get regular juice. Kev, let’s get him upstairs, we’ll put him in one of the small bedrooms.”

Lip and Iggy went out as quick as they had entered, satisfied to have their own tasks and problems to work on. Vee moved up the stairs, Kev following her lead. They went into Frank’s old room and Kev laid Mickey gently down on the bed. Vee knelt down to try to get a better look at him when Ian was right at her side.

“Ian, you need to give me room to do what I gotta do.” Vee said.

He set his jaw, his classic stubborn move. “I’m not leaving him.”

“Ian please,” Vee urged him. “I need to be able to think without everyone here breathing down my neck. Mickey needs rest, he needs fluids, assuming he wakes up he’ll be weak. I need to do what I can do, but I can’t do that if you’re crowding me.”

“NO, I’ll stay out of the way, I won’t do anything! I’m not leaving, I’m not!” Ian argued.

He was clearly distraught, but as much as Vee would like to comfort him, she literally did not have time for it. When Lip appeared with the supplies, she took the opportunity. “Everyone, clear the fuck out, let me do what I can here. Kev?” She cocked her head in Ian’s direction and Kev took the hint, putting his hand on Ian’s chest and urging him out of the room. Lip shut the door behind them, but she could still hear their arguing on the other side. Vee tuned them out and turned her focus back to Mickey.

“You poor thing,” she said to him, lightly brushing his hair off his forehead. “You had a rough go of it. I’mma do my best here, but I’m no doctor. No promises, kid.”

Vee checked him for a good vein, looking around until she found a belt she could use to help put pressure on his arm. She wrapped it around and checked his veins again until she was satisfied. Vee grabbed the gauze and alcohol, swabbing a spot on his arm for her to insert the needle that would hopefully bring fluids back into his system. She opened up the packaging on the needle and guided it into place. Once she had everything connected properly, she opened up the valve on the line and watched the solution rush through until it reached his veins. She sighed in relief. It was a small victory, but a victory nonetheless, and she would take what she could get.

She got a roll of medical tape out of her purse and taped the lead to his arm so it couldn’t come out. When that was all in place, she finally opened the door.

Ian had slumped against the wall but snapped to attention when Vee appeared. “How is he?”

She looked over her shoulder at Mickey for a moment before addressing him. “I got the line in, he’s getting fluids. Time will tell at this point. I’m not an expert, but I do know that if he wakes up he will definitely be weak. He will need to take it as easy as possible until he gets his strength back. No telling how long this was going on, so I really can’t say.

Ian nodded, his eyes on Mickey the entire time. Vee reached over and rubbed his arm gently.

“Maybe you should get some rest too. Or help the guys on a supply run? No telling how long he’ll be out.”

He shook his head adamantly. “No. I want to be here when he wakes up.”

Vee knew when she was fighting a losing battle. “Just don’t disturb him, you hear me? He’s gotta come out of it himself.”

Ian didn’t bother answering, but she was sure he got the message. He moved around her and settled on the floor next to the bed, just looking at Mickey. Vee closed the door and she, Kev and Lip moved back downstairs.

\----------

Ian stayed up half the night watching Mickey and thinking about how everything had went so wrong since they broke up.

He knew in retrospect that the breakup wasn’t really what he had wanted, and that he handled it terribly. He had thought many times of going to visit Mickey in prison, but he didn’t even know what he could say that would fix everything, and so he stayed away. Ian knew that Mickey had asked about him, at least early on. Svetlana would tell him every time Mickey mentioned his name. Ian tried to act unaffected, but the guilt nested in his belly and gnawed away at him. Mickey was in prison because of him, indirectly anyway, and he had done nothing to support him through any of it.

Ian watched over Mickey and hoped for a chance to try to make it right. He wasn’t religious, but he was willing to pray to anyone who would hear him to let Mickey make it through this and to let him prove to Mickey that he did regret hurting him. That he did regret leaving him.

That he did love him.


	3. Chapter 3

First thing in the morning, Vee tiptoed into the room to check on Mickey. She quietly stepped over Ian, who had dozed off sitting on the floor with his head resting on the bed near Mickey's hand. Physically they were so close to each other, but they were worlds apart. Vee was sad thinking about it. She had always thought they had a fighting chance, but she didn't know if they could fix things now.

Mickey had been at the house since the previous afternoon and had yet to wake up. Vee wasn’t really sure if that was normal or not, but considering everything he had probably been through, she wasn’t surprised either. During the night, she had changed his fluid bag and replaced it with another one. She hoped the fluid would be enough to get Mickey awake so that she could start to build up his strength. Vee reached down and felt Mickey’s wrist for his pulse. _Getting stronger_. That was a very good sign. She noticed that his eyelids were fluttering just so, and would place bets that he was dreaming. While he had been basically lifeless when they brought him back, Vee couldn’t say the same as she looked him over in the early morning light. She was confident that it wouldn’t be long before he woke up, and she released a sigh of relief she didn’t even know she was holding in. There was, however, another problem for her to contend with.

She leaned over and gently shook Ian’s shoulder. “Hey, wake up.”

Ian roused slowly as she continued to rock him. When he finally opened his eyes and looked at her, she stood back and motioned him to follow her. Ian climbed to his feet and followed her into the hall.

“What’s up, Vee?” He asked as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

She cocked her head towards the stairs. “Let’s talk down there.”

Vee moved down the back staircase to the kitchen before Ian could argue with her, leaving him no choice but to follow. He came around the wall and down the last few steps, spotting Svetlana feeding Yevgeny at the kitchen counter. While the young boy was absorbed in his food, the women were both looking at him expectantly.

“What?” Ian asked.

They exchanged a look before Vee addressed him. “I’m not positive, but I think Mickey is going to wake up soon.”

His eyes lit up. “That’s great news!” Ian watched as they both glanced over at each other again and then back at him, and he felt his hackles going up.  “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Ian,” Vee dragged out his name, not looking forward to making her point. “I don’t… I don’t think you should be the first person he wakes up to.”

He could feel his anger and he tried hard to tamp it down. “Excuse me?” He asked through gritted teeth.

Vee reached for him but he stepped out of her way. “Ian, it’s just… He’s been through a lot, and I just don’t know how he will react to seein’ you, that’s all. The last time he saw you was when you guys broke up, and he’s been in jail for like, three fuckin’ years.” When Vee moved forward again, Ian let her. She rubbed his arms and continued. “He’s gonna need time to adjust, he hasn’t been out in a long time. Seein’ you might be just too much of a shock that he can’t afford right now.”

_Shit_. Ian had been so caught up in how he felt that it hadn’t occurred to him how Mickey would feel about it. Begrudgingly, he nodded and moved off into the living room, dropping down onto the couch and laying his head back to stare at the ceiling.

Vee and Svetlana exchanged a relieved look. “I expected more of a fight,” Vee admitted.

Svetlana nodded her agreement. “Maybe they grow up after all. I will go sit with him until he wakes up. Let’s go see Papa, Zhenya.”

Yevgeny obediently stopped eating and allowed Svetlana to help him down from his seat and lead him up the stairs. They reached the room where Mickey lay and Yevgeny hesitated by the door as he examined his father.

“Is Papa sick?” He asked, looking up to Svetlana for reassurance.

She smiled and rubbed her son’s shoulders to comfort him. “Papa was not feeling well, but he is doing much better. Veronica, she make him feel better again. Remember how she made you feel better when you had chickenpox, Zhenya?” Yevgeny did. He remembered that Vee had made him feel so much better. Svetlana continued. “She helped Papa and now he will be awake soon, and he will be so happy to see you. Do you want to come sit with Mama so we can greet Papa when he is awake?”

When he finally nodded, Svetlana guided him into the room and pulled him onto her lap as she sat down on the recliner which had been moved upstairs from the living room. Now, they would wait.

\----------

_“Gallagher’s spelled with two L’s.”_

_Mickey pulled down his collar to look at his chest. “No, it’s fuckin’ not!”_

_A laugh, cold and uncaring. A sneer disguised as a smile. He didn’t know this Ian who was sitting on the other side of the hard plastic posing as a window. How he wanted to smash that glass, break through it, break through this veneer Ian was presenting him. How it hurt to be so close and not be able to bridge that gap. Mickey needed a reassurance, he pleaded for it, and he got it… but it was empty. Everything was empty. He was alone._

Svetlana watched as Mickey slowly started to rouse. His hand moved up and rubbed mindlessly at his chest as he slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he did was pull down his shirt and look at himself, visibly relieved at whatever he saw. Svetlana couldn’t figure out what about his bare chest would give him relief, but she figured he was probably just out of it from everything that had happened. Mickey started to look around the room and she could see the confusion as he tried to place his surroundings. He finally turned his head and they made eye contact.

His voice rasped from disuse. “Lana?”

“Hello Mikhail.”

“Am I…?” Mickey couldn’t finish the sentence.

“Dead? No.” She had a cigarette in her hand and blew a plume of smoke towards the ceiling. “You think I would be the first person you meet in death?”

He shrugged his shoulders slightly. “Maybe in hell.”

Svetlana couldn’t help but to huff a snort of laughter. She stroked Yevgeny’s hair as he lay curled up in her lap watching his father. “Zhenya, your Papa is awake. Will you say hello to him?”

Yevgeny stuck his thumb in his mouth, burdened with a sudden fit of shyness. He watched as his father looked him over and gave him a tender smile.

“Hey little man,” Mickey whispered. “Can I have a hug?”

He nodded and slowly rolled off his mother’s lap, shuffling over to the bed. Yevgeny allowed Mickey to pull him onto the bed and tuck him into the fold of his body. Mickey nosed his son’s hair and kissed his forehead lightly. Svetlana watched a tear sneak out of her husband’s eye and she couldn’t help but feel tenderness towards him. Despite all of the hardships they had been through with each other, she had played the role of the dutiful wife while he was in prison, visiting him regularly with their son. She could tell that it had paid off, because Mickey did love his son, something she hadn’t trusted would ever happen. For all the flack she gave him about being a piece of shit, at least she could say she could never see him selling their son, no matter what the reason. In that, she had to admit he was probably more capable as a parent than her own father.

“Zhenya, go downstairs and tell Veronica that Papa is awake so she can come and look at him.”

Yevgeny nodded and slid off the bed, running out of the room. They were quiet at first, Svetlana and Mickey not really knowing what to say to each other in that moment. While their relationship had grown comfortable enough over time, they still weren’t exactly friends. More like allies out of necessity. Pleasantries just weren’t their niche. Mickey looked around for the first time, trying to get his bearings.

“Where am I?” He asked.

Before she could answer, there was a knock at the door and they looked over to see Vee in the doorway with an applesauce cup and a spoon.

“Kid, you are a sight for sore fuckin’ eyes.” She greeted him with a toothy grin as she entered the room and lightly sat on the edge of the bed. “Any idea how long it’s been since you ate?”

Mickey tried to remember, but it was all kind of a blur, and he just wound up shrugging at her. Vee hadn’t really thought he would be able to tell her anyway, so she was nonplussed about it.

“Listen, don’t want you to get sick, so we gotta start you out light.” She opened the top of the plastic cup and scooped out a spoonful, offering it to Mickey.

He scowled at her and reached for it. “I can fuckin’ feed myself, the fuck?” Soon he had the spoon in his own hand and stuck it in his mouth. Applesauce had never tasted so good and he moaned over it as he reached to take the cup from Vee.

“That’s the little asshole I know,” she said with glee. “Don’t you eat that shit too fast though, I don’t care how tough you are, you’ll make yourself sick. If you can keep that down we’ll see if we can’t give you more food. We’ll fatten you back up in no time flat.”

Mickey nodded as he slowly ate the applesauce, relishing in having something in his belly again. He could feel himself gaining more energy by the minute. He was still tired and run down, but he felt better than he could remember feeling in some time. The women both watched over him as he ate. He finished the cup and sunk back into the pillows behind him. The next thing they knew, Mickey was asleep again.

Svetlana gently took the spoon out of his hand and offered it to Vee. “This is normal?”

Vee took the spoon from her and said, “Fuck if I know. This is the blind leading the blind. He’s had a rough go of things, I assume it’ll take some time to build up his strength again.” She cocked her head towards the door and Svetlana nodded. They got up in unison and made their way out, shutting the door being them to give him some peace and quiet.

\----------

As everyone slowly began to rouse, the news of Mickey’s awakening spread through the group to everyone’s delight. Mandy and Iggy scrambled upstairs to sit and wait for him to wake up again so they could have their own reunion. Ian, meanwhile, paced around the kitchen anxiously.

“I used to be a part of that,” he said sullenly.

“And you might be again,” Fiona replied, trying her best to be comforting. “You just gotta feel things out and see how it goes instead of just jumping headlong into it.”

Her words bounced off Ian unheard. “I was a part of that and now I’m not and it’s all my fault. I should be up there.”

Lip clapped him on the shoulder. “Hey, maybe he’ll be receptive to seeing you, just give him a chance to adjust man.”

Ian shrugged Lip’s hand off of him. “I’m going outside for some fresh air.”

He crossed through the living room and stepped outside onto the front porch, shutting the door quietly behind him. He didn’t want to draw attention to the humanoid things wandering around. There were a few down the block that hadn’t noticed him yet. Ian lit a cigarette and watched as they roamed around with no apparent goal. He checked to make sure he had one of his pocket knives, just in case, but they wandered the other way and left the street quiet.

The door opened and closed behind him but Ian didn’t turn around. He assumed at first that it would be Lip, but after a moment, Carl appeared at his shoulder. They stood together, looking over the street. Carl was 17 now, but he was unlike Ian or Lip had been at that age. They had all worried about the path he would take after he went to juvie that first time, but it proved to be the only time he would get himself in trouble like that. He had gotten out and had stayed on the straight and narrow ever since. Ian thought it was a shame that Carl was just coming into himself now when the world was going to shit.

Carl glanced over and waited until Ian returned his gaze to speak. “How’s it feel having Mickey back here?”

“It’s frustrating,” Ian admitted. “He’s right upstairs but I’m being kept away from him.”

Carl considered this. “If you’ve missed him, how come you never went to see him in prison?”

“I don’t know, man.” He lit another cigarette and huffed the smoke out in frustration. “The whole situation was a mess, I was pretty sure he probably hated me. Still does, maybe. It was just complicated and I didn’t know how to handle it.”

Carl didn’t say anything, just stared off into the street again, but it was obvious that he had something on his mind. Carl wasn’t much of a talker, though, and was likely to keep his thoughts to himself if not encouraged to speak up.

“Just say what you want to say,” Ian urged.

“It’s just…” Carl sighed, not wanting to fight with Ian or offend him. “It’s just that you guys are all so wrapped up in your own bullshit. You, Fiona, Lip, even Debbie. You act first and think later and always regret half of the shit you do. You rarely stop to consider the other side. You left Mickey in prison alone. He probably needed you.”

Ian regretted encouraging Carl to express his opinion. “Thanks for the guilt trip three years too late.”

“Whatever, you asked bro.” They were silent after that, resuming their neighborhood watch. The minutes dragged by slowly before Carl broke the silence again, patting Ian on the shoulder. “You know, you never even took into account that some of us missed Mickey too. You were too busy being caught up in your own shit.” Carl moved back from Ian’s side and went in the house.

_Dammit_. Ian hated when Carl had a point.

\----------

When Mickey woke up for the second time, he was happy to see his brother and sister waiting for him. “Hey sis, when’d you get back from Indy?”

“Few weeks ago,” Mandy replied, offering no further explanation. She wasn’t sure what Mickey was aware of and didn’t want to stress him out. She held out a plate with a peanut butter sandwich on it. “Hungry? You should get more food in you.”

He reached for the sandwich and took a couple of bites, chewing them greedily. “Got anything to drink?” Iggy offered him a glass of water, and Mickey surveyed his meal. “Plain sandwich and water, huh? Thought I was out of prison. Where the hell are we, anyway?”

“We’re at the Gallagher’s house.” Iggy told him. Mickey’s eyes blew wide open and Mandy punched his arm. “What? He hadda find out eventually, Mands.”

“Why the _fuck_ are we at the Gallagher house right now?” Mickey was still weak and he was trying very hard to stay calm but he could feel the fight or flight instinct kicking in, and it was telling him to fucking _run_ as fast as he could. He tried to sit up and Mandy pushed him back down with little effort.

“Mick, you need to calm the fuck down.” Mandy demanded. “Look, we got caught up out there and this was the closest place to hole up. We all decided to team up together. We’ve each got something the other wants. We got weapons, experience dealing with violent situations, they have food and Vee, who knows more about medical shit than the rest of us combined. We need each other.”

He bit the inside of his cheek, turning her explanation over in his mind. He wasn’t thrilled about it, but he wasn’t in a position to argue in his current condition. Like it or not, he figured he was just going to have to ride this out until he was strong enough for them to go out on their own. “Is everyone…?”

Iggy nodded. “Fine. Everyone is fine.”

Mickey hated that after three years, his heart still had to ask the next question. “Ian?”

Mandy looked down at her feet. “He’s been waiting to see you, Mick. We all thought it would be better if we saw you first before springing him on you.”

“Not sure I’m up for that yet.” He whispered.

They understood. Iggy and Mandy stayed with him for awhile, filling him in on the events that had led to where things were now, giving him more answers than he had in prison. The world had gone to shit, but Mickey didn’t care. He had the people who were important to him around, and that was enough for him. Iggy helped him get up and move around for the first time. It was slow going and Mickey was frustrated as hell. He didn’t like feeling weak.

That night, as Mickey tried to sleep, he could hear the floorboards creaking outside his door. He knew it was Ian on the other side, and he could have acknowledged it, but instead he ignored it until eventually the footsteps moved away and the house was quiet again. Mickey was angry, but even more so, he was hurt. Three years alone hadn’t done anything to help that. He knew that soon he would have to face Ian, but he couldn’t bite the bullet and do it. Not yet.

Mickey wasn’t ready to let Ian in.

**Author's Note:**

> You can usually find me wasting time on [Tumblr](http://grumblesandmumbles.tumblr.com).


End file.
